McAfee is giving online merchants a new way to boost consumer trust with the release today of McAfee Secure for Web Sites, a comprehensive security scanning service that is backed by the company's trust mark.

The new service, while useful on any Web site, is especially beneficial on e-commerce sites where shopping carts are frequently abandoned when a consumer doesn't feel the site is completely secure. At the same time, the service offers online businesses daily managed security scans that help them meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards.

Gettin' Legit' with the McAfee trust logo.

How McAfee Secure for Web Sites Works
Web site owners don't need to invest a lot of time in getting McAfee certified. Tim Dowling, vice president of the McAfee Web Security Group, said, "To get started, site owners simply need to provide their URL and give permission for the testing and scanning. These daily scans check for potential risks to your site visitors, like Web application vulnerabilities, malicious content and risky e-mail practices. Even external links on your site are verified to ensure you're not inadvertently sending your visitors to other risky Web sites."

For example, if you offer free downloads on your site, the scan service checks to ensure they do not contain malicious content such as adware or spyware. It also tests sites for excessive pop-ups, spam, deceptive marketing practices browser exploits and potential phishing attacks.

Once your site passes the security scan, you can display the McAfee Secure trust mark, which is easily added to your site by copying a bit of code to your page. Owners of sites that fail the daily scan are notified by e-mail and the trust mark is automatically disabled until the issues are fixed and your site passes the next scan. At that point, the trust mark is reinstated. The service also lets you review your vulnerability reports.

Additionally, McAfee Secure for Web Sites will be identified in McAfee SiteAdvisor ratings to help consumers choose secure sites in search results from all major search providers. SiteAdvisor, which Dowling said has been downloaded by more than 130 million users, is a toolbar that warns users of potentially harmful sites while they search and browse the Web.

SearchScan with Yahoo makes for safe surfing and shopping. (Click for larger image.)

Being identified by McAfee's SiteAdvisor as a safe site is something Web site owners now need to consider more than ever. Just yesterday, Yahoo announced the beginning of a test phase for a new optional search feature, called SearchScan, based on McAfee's SiteAdvisor technology.

Web sites that are certified under the McAfee Secure for Web Sites service are positively identified by SiteAdvisor, and subsequently, any search property that uses SiteAdvisor technology.

McAfee Secure for Web Sites: Added Benefits for Merchants
Dowling said that industry research indicates that 70 percent of terminated online purchases are due to shoppers having a lack of trust in the site.

For merchants, the service not only conveys a sense of security and trust to site visitors, but also offers McAfee's PCI Compliance Service to subscribers. Here, online businesses are provided with wizards, interactive tools and automated procedures that make it fast and easy to meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards. When online business owners use the wizard they are basically walked through the required steps to meet PCI compliance. With the wizard complete, they are then provided with a checklist that they can use at any certifying bank.

The Cost of a McAfee Trust Mark
McAfee Secure for Web Sites is more than just a trust mark you can display to visitors. With an estimated 7.8 billion risky Web sites on the Internet today, McAfee Secure for Web sites gives site owners a way to prove they are legitimate. Plus, Web shop owners get managed security scanning with reporting tools and the McAfee PCI Compliance Certification.

McAfee Secure for Web Sites is now available on an annual subscription basis. The subscription price is based on your Web site;s daily page views, so smaller Web sites may be looking at $1,500 in the low range and upwards from there for larger businesses and corporations serving Web sites with a much higher number of daily page views.